The Buddenbrooks are an upper middle class bourgeois family in Germany. The story follows multiple generations through traditions of mediocrity and "aThe Buddenbrooks are an upper middle class bourgeois family in Germany. The story follows multiple generations through traditions of mediocrity and "appearance only" family life. As modernity takes hold and renders their family traditions antiquated and their familial bonds tenuous at best, they begin to fall apart. I suppose some people would say it's about modernity's inability to support traditional family life, but I thought it highlighted the ways in which the middle classes focused more on tradition for the sake of public persona, thus sacrificing bonds that would sturdy them throughout external pressures. Maybe that's just me and my middle class background.Was, is, and always will be one of my favorite books of all time. ...more